Mirador La Llanía
A viewpoint on the central plateau of El Hierro, inside the Frontera rural park, looking out over the escarpment of the El Golfo valley. From the rim you take in at a glance the huge landslide that dropped half the island's flank and left the valley at the foot of the wall. It is reached on a circular trail through a south-facing laurel and heath forest of tall tree heathers, ferns and lichen.
The La Llanía viewpoint opens onto the El Golfo escarpment, the wall left behind when an enormous landslide carried the north-western flank of El Hierro into the sea. The area carries several layers of protection: Frontera rural park, biosphere reserve, special area of conservation and special protection area for birds. The trail that reaches it is circular and comes in three variants, from about four to seven and a half kilometres, depending on how far you want to walk. It crosses the HI-1 and HI-40 roads and shares part of its course with the Camino de la Virgen, the GR-131.
Almost the whole route runs through a south-facing laurel and heath forest, a botanical oddity explained by the sea of clouds spilling over the ridge and pouring moisture down this side. Beside the viewpoint stands a tree heather with the ground cemented around it to collect the water the fog condenses into a cistern, a good example of the island's water culture. A short way on lies the Hoya de Fireba, an explosion crater 259 metres across inside and 110 metres deep, the best preserved on El Hierro. Fog can close the view in minutes, so it is worth stepping to the rim as soon as the valley clears.
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